Trump's Lies Have A Purpose. They're An Assault On Democracy

[Tennesseer]

Trump’s lies have a purpose. They are an assault on democracy.
Donald Trump is winning the war on reality. Welcome to the age of nightmares.

All politicians lie. In a democracy, they usually tell lies to achieve a particular result: Maybe they want to conceal information that would damage their reputations, or take credit for something they had nothing to do with. Sometimes a falsehood can obstruct a piece of undesirable legislation, or facilitate the passage of a desirable one. But in each of these cases, a lie tends to be little more than a momentary deviation from the truth. It’s a brief sojourn outside the borders of our stable, shared reality.

Some political lies are more ambitious than that. Sometimes the goal isn’t to embroider reality as it currently exists, but to construct a new reality out of whole cloth.

That’s what the second Bush administration tried to do. President George W. Bush and his advisers — most notably deputy chief of staff Karl Rove —wove a parallel universe in which Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, Al Qaeda was in cahoots with virtually all of America’s enemies, and the United States was a messianic crusader that would eventually spread capitalist liberal democracy to every corner of the world. This apocalyptic vision had little in common with the actually existing global order, but it was a compelling story.

Creating an alternate political universe requires discipline. It requires the willingness to tell many little lies that add up to one big lie. All these lies need to be internally consistent, mutually reinforcing, and at least superficially plausible. Think of it like writing fantasy fiction; the spell woven by books like The Lord of the Rings only works if the worlds they obey a coherent inner logic.

Complete article here:  Trump’s lies have a purpose. They are an assault on democracy.

Discuss.

[dondub]

I don't want to talk about him.

[Tiny]

This is the part that worries me the most.

It is tempting to take solace in the belief that, if Trump cannot be taken literally, his extreme rhetoric might conceal a secret moderate streak. But that hope would be misplaced. Non-linear warfare is intrinsically authoritarian. The president-elect is speaking the language of dictators.

Trump is a Bully - I'm kind of amazed that few people seem to see this. OK, maybe they do see it and think that being a bully isn't so bad (which really frightens me). And that when a Bully is given power they become a dictator. There is NO other outcome - bullies do not have "hallmark hall of fame" moment when they realize that they should be/ought to be/need to be a better human being and step off the path to Dictator. Bullies in power don't ever think about the responsibilities to those they lead. Those they lead are fodder. nothing more.

It will be interesting to see if Trump does become the first American Dictator.

I have never had these kinds of thoughts about any of the other candidates or presidents during my life time - even when I didn't like/didn't vote for someone - I was never concerned about the abuse (and the consequences of that abuse) of power. Trump and his team frighten me.

[dezailoooooo]

Nov 30, 2016 0:48:05 GMT -5 Tiny said:

This is the part that worries me the most.

It is tempting to take solace in the belief that, if Trump cannot be taken literally, his extreme rhetoric might conceal a secret moderate streak. But that hope would be misplaced. Non-linear warfare is intrinsically authoritarian. The president-elect is speaking the language of dictators.

Trump is a Bully - I'm kind of amazed that few people seem to see this. OK, maybe they do see it and think that being a bully isn't so bad (which really frightens me). And that when a Bully is given power they become a dictator. There is NO other outcome - bullies do not have "hallmark hall of fame" moment when they realize that they should be/ought to be/need to be a better human being and step off the path to Dictator. Bullies in power don't ever think about the responsibilities to those they lead. Those they lead are fodder. nothing more.

It will be interesting to see if Trump does become the first American Dictator.

I have never had these kinds of thoughts about any of the other candidates or presidents during my life time - even when I didn't like/didn't vote for someone - I was never concerned about the abuse (and the consequences of that abuse) of power. Trump and his team frighten me.

Agree with u on all your thought...I ad, he is a sleeze...as my future President he embarreses me..unlike those who support him..he knows better...makes one shudder..

"President-elect Donald Trump does not create new realities. He tells lies that are seemingly random, frequently inconsistent, and often plainly ridiculous.

He says or tweets things on the record and then denies having ever said them. He contradicts documented fact and then disregards anyone who points out the inaccuracies. He even lies when he has no discernible reason to do so — and then turns around and tells another lie that flies in the face of the previous one."

[Opti]

Nov 30, 2016 0:48:05 GMT -5 Tiny said:

This is the part that worries me the most.

It is tempting to take solace in the belief that, if Trump cannot be taken literally, his extreme rhetoric might conceal a secret moderate streak. But that hope would be misplaced. Non-linear warfare is intrinsically authoritarian. The president-elect is speaking the language of dictators.

Trump is a Bully - I'm kind of amazed that few people seem to see this. OK, maybe they do see it and think that being a bully isn't so bad (which really frightens me). And that when a Bully is given power they become a dictator. There is NO other outcome - bullies do not have "hallmark hall of fame" moment when they realize that they should be/ought to be/need to be a better human being and step off the path to Dictator. Bullies in power don't ever think about the responsibilities to those they lead. Those they lead are fodder. nothing more.

It will be interesting to see if Trump does become the first American Dictator.

I have never had these kinds of thoughts about any of the other candidates or presidents during my life time - even when I didn't like/didn't vote for someone - I was never concerned about the abuse (and the consequences of that abuse) of power. Trump and his team frighten me.

I think more conservatives than we realize know he is a bully. I just think they've adopted narratives as to why its OK. The one I've seen the most is that a bully on your side is good to beat up other bullies.

Which would explain why Goliath was taken down by David.   (As an example)

[rob base]

LMAO- "Bush & Rove wove a parallel universe where sadam had chemical weapons"....apparently they were so convincing most of the rest of the world had the same intelligence info we did. LMAO

BTW- what exactly is the lie / parallel universe Trump is setting up? I want to make sure I know in advance so I can recognize it.

Because already u all been throwing me off saying first the stock market would CRASH when Trump won. Then it was "oh well market volatility is bad" when the market went up.

Please remember I am a dumb generally right leaning individual, and PLEASE SIMPLIFY it for me

THX